This Saturday thousands of people will take to the streets of Belfast to celebrate Pride.
The event can trace its roots back to the 1969 uprising in Greenwich, New York, following police raids of the Stonewall Inn, one of the few bars in the city that welcomed members of the gay community. The following year the first gay pride marches took place in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago to mark the anniversary of what really was the start of the gay liberation movement.
The nationwide repeal of laws outlawing homosexuality was only enforced by the US Supreme Court in 2003.
There is still no federal law outlawing discrimination nationwide leaving LGBT+ residents of some of the more conservative states unprotected against discrimination.
In Northern Ireland we can't judge those far-right American states.
No same sex marriage, no gender recognition act, no implementation of a sexual orientation strategy that would prevent discrimination in the workplace.
They are instead all - yes, you guessed it – devolved matters.
If we take a cold hard look at the facts, the opportunity for a return to Stormont now or in the very near future looks remote.
I could list the reasons for that, scandals, sleaze and political intolerance, but since this broken record has been spinning on the turntable since January 2017 I think most of you fine people are well versed in the issues.
This week I moderated the annual Pride Talks Back political event.
Organised by the Belfast Pride committee it is an event that allows members of the LGBT+ community to engage with and put questions to their elected representatives.
This year Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, the PUP's Billy Hutchinson, John Blair of Alliance, who is currently the only openly gay MLA, Steven Agnew, outgoing Green Party leader, Claire Hanna of the SDLP along with Doug Beattie of the UUP, all formed the panel.
Notice anyone missing? The DUP was invited but didn't attend.
As Arlene Foster previously attended a Pink News event at Stormont there were hopes the party would send someone along.
In a leaked speech to the DUP executive, Mrs Foster told senior party members she had been invited by one of Northern Ireland's largest inward investors, presumably meaning the Pink News event's sponsor Citi.
That the DUP will attend such events if asked to by big business but not by humble activists is not good for the optics.
I went out on a limb and asked Jim Wells personally would he attend. The South Down MLA has already broken the party's boycott Nolan campaign and seems to be his own man these days, so I thought it was worth a punt.
It has been reported that he said he'd 'rather walk the Falls Road in a Rangers shirt' which is very true, they were his words, albeit tongue firmly in cheek, but even when I offered to walk the road with him in a Rangers shirt he still declined.
I don't want to make this about Jim, who is a man I've always found pleasant despite us clearly having very, very different views on an entire raft of social issues. He is also not responsible for the DUP leadership.
It is too easy to allow the failure to engage, to come along and vocalise and stand over their political position, to focus on one man.
Of the unionist that did attend, the UUP's Doug Beattie, was brutally honest. He apologised for not always getting it right, for messing up on terminology but said he was willing to learn.
Isn't that all anyone can ask for, that politicians open their ears and listen?
Attending her first Pride Talks Back event, Mary Lou McDonald said while it would represent political failure if the current impasse cannot be resolved, people cannot be expected to wait forever.
"If it is the case that Westminster has to intervene then so be it", she said.
Quite a statement from the Sinn Féin leader, but one that the secretary of state Karen Bradley should take on board.
Resolving those outstanding social issues could be done from Westminster with the stroke of a pen.
A much less rocky return to devolution could have been negotiated 12 months ago had these issues been taken off the table and dealt with by Westminster.
As it is the Conservative government is constantly teetering on the brink of crisis, the Chequers agreement on Brexit unravelling like a badly knitted jumper.
Theresa May's over reliance on DUP MPs, Ian Paisley and his fondness for luxury holidays included, is poisoning the well and the impact that's having locally should not be underestimated.
Leo Varadkar said this week talks could resume in October to reinstate the Assembly.
His optimism is delightful, can't say I share it.
